Forehead to forehead, eyes closed and hands pressed softly
yet assertively together, two tango partners spin around the floor of Main Gym
during the weekly UCSD Argentine Tango Club practica. Leading with their
chests, the men sweep the women across the floor in a dance that mixes a series
of basic moves with improvisation based on the crooning of the violin, piano
and bandoneo-infused tango music. Each couple has a unique interpretation of
the mood that conveys tango as they connect, lean on each other and create a
flowing movement of emotion and personal expression.

“[Tango is] kind of
an intimate, unspoken conversation between two people,” said Justin Ma, a
graduate student and current tango club president.

Ma is one of the many graduate students who have found the
club to be a great opportunity to both practice tango skills and socialize with
a community of diverse people.

“The tango community is very international,” Ma said. “Tango
people tend to be very driven, and it tends to be reflected in the
professionalism of the people that come in.”

The tango club caters to more than just UCSD; it also
incorporates the larger La Jolla community and encourages people of all ages
and levels to take advantage of the opportunity to learn from, and help, teach
others.

“Practica is about showing your knowledge with other
people,” Revelle College senior Parisa Ghannadan said. “Everyone has a role of
learning and teaching.”

To reach out to all levels of dancers, recreation classes
are offered at RIMAC Arena that teach beginners dance’s basic structure before
they develop a more free-form practica. Eleanor Roosevelt College sophomore
Samara Kaplan was skeptical about going to her first practica, but soon found a
supportive environment.

“The atmosphere was a little daunting at first, because the
dancers seem so professional … but once you get dancing, everyone is in their
own world,” Kaplan said in an e-mail.

Luckily for any tango novice, the basic concept of the dance
derives from an act the average student has hopefully mastered: walking.
However, learning to walk with a partner and engaging in a lead-and-follow
dynamic takes much practice and dedication. In order to advance to moves such
as leg wraps and spins, every student must first learn the basic steps.
Beginners must master the crusada, ochos, molinete, weight change and, perhaps
most importantly, a consistent frame posture.

“There are opening
moves … but then [the moves] take you to different places,” said Maziar Nezhad,
a graduate student and former tango club president. “There is an element of
randomness.”

The tango is a naturally explorative dance, and mastering
the initial techniques prepares dancers for all sorts of possibilities.

“[Tango] is really diverse because the motions you go
through when you’re dancing goes from playful to sad to dramatic,” Ma said. “It
runs the gamut. I like that variety.”

The uniqueness of a
tango dance is accredited to the combination of two partners sharing their
common knowledge and style since the male leads and the female follows.

“It’s an interaction of invitation and acceptance,” Nezhad
said.

Because the dance itself is so rhythmic, music plays a
crucial role in the dance’s movements and mood.

“A great deal of the pleasure of the dance comes from the
connection to the music,” Nezhad said. “If [the connection] is not there, then
it’s just a bunch of moves that don’t really make sense. When there is this
connection to the music, then it all kind of falls in place.”

Because music is an integral part of tango, Ma encourages
students to get involved with the club through DJ opportunities in addition to
dancing. The practicas revolve around a sequence of tango music that can invoke
different feelings and emotions from the dancers; students can approach tango
through appreciation of its music, which ranges from classical slow and
romantic tango to a large range of modern adaptations called “nueva” tango,
which Ghannadan describes as “tango with a ghetto beat.”

The tango club also hosts events such as demo dances, in
which two partners showcase their tango skills to audiences during events
ranging from campus activities to La Jolla cultural fairs. Promoting the club
has become increasingly important to members.

As a free opportunity to both learn and teach, the tango
club provides a place for anyone and everyone to explore their interest in the
dance, music and culture.

“What is so unique about tango is how smooth the movements
are,” Kaplan said in an e-mail. “There is such a passion that comes out of you
when you tango, especially when you close your eyes and let your body just move
around the space.”